The Atmos Box, 2022

The Atmos Box is a sound sculpture which takes weather data such as temperature, humidity, pressure, and wind speed along with the time of day and year to create sound. The sculpture consists of a RaspberryPi, a RaspberryPi SenseHAT, a weather-proof casing, a wooden box with a metal hook, a rechargeable battery, and Python and Pure Data patches developed specifically for this project. The box was made in conjunction with a collaborative residency at Chateau Orquevaux in Orquevaux, France and is permanently installed on the grounds. 

Our intent with this sculpture was to reflect the natural beauty of the Chateau while also creating a sculpture visually distinct from its landscape. We ended on a design that encased fully visible electronics with colored ribbon cables and blinking lights in a wooden box. From a distance, The Atmos Box could camouflage as a birdhouse, however up close it is clear it is something that doesn’t quite belong in this historic, agrarian landscape.

The Atmos Box comes with a headphone jack that can be plugged into a speaker or headphones. It was important to us that it not disrupt the surrounding landscape while also drawing in other residents of the Chateau to listen simply by creating an object that sparked curiosity - a silent blinking box. Our hope is that residents will find a deeper - or at least different - connection with their surroundings by listening to a manifestation of this place at this specific time. As it is a residency where people often return, we hope returning residents will be able to hear changes in the sound - even on the same day a year later. 

My partner for this project was longtime collaborator Andrew Dyet. Our roles were very similar in creating The Atmosphere Box. We worked closely together on the initial physical design as well as the design of the PD patch - originally a Max/MSP patch. After the initial design, my role focused more toward funding, the physical design, and sound of the project and Andrew focused on material research and logistical issues. After we had finished all physical components and had a rough draft of the PD and Python patches, we worked jointly to finish the project during our residency.

Pure Data Patch that runs on the Raspberry Pi